Hi! This is Al Martella – thank you to Andrea for allowing me to share some thoughts about networking this week.
Yesterday I found myself thinking back to my first full-time job after graduating from college. The job was at a midtown New York bank. I remember being overwhelmed by the number of people I met that first day. I wish I was more like a young man named Pete who Andrea writes about in her book “Networking That Really Works.”
“When Pete took a new position, one of the first things he did was to draw a map of his office area with each cubicle and office noted. As he met people, he wrote their names on the corresponding space on his map, along with any interesting things he learns about them in conversation – the names of their children, their favorite vacation spots, their interests as well as work information.”
According to Quora.com, it is estimated that 110,000 employees change jobs each day. If you are one of those individuals, consider doing the following:
- Create a method of record information about your new co-workers. Consider creating a map as Pete did or create a list in your preferred data-gathering tool like Google Contacts or Microsoft Outlook.
- Ask the hiring manager, as well as others you meet, “Who would you suggest I meet in my work area?”
- Use common areas such a break room to meet people. My experience is that most people will welcome a smile and a pleasant hello from a new person.
- Meet the support team like receptionists, people in the mail room and others. (Take a look at Networking Nugget #212 for more help with this.)
- Use group gatherings – formal (team meetings) or informal (birthday celebrations, etc.) to meet new people.
- Set a goal to meet at least 5 new people each week. Believe it or not, even after working in an area for several years, this is possible!
Finally, here’s the advice from a well-networked friend – “Find the person who knows everyone or knows how to find people. Earn their trust and listen to their wisdom.”
What do you think? Andrea and I would love to hear from you and your thoughts and suggestions.
*** From Andrea–“Thank you again to my good friend and mentor, Al— I always learn from everything you write. Thank you for being a continual guest and guru in the area of Networking and Business Development.
Again everyone– Al Martella– Executive Coach to The Stars who has trained thousands of financial advisors for many years in how to successfully build their business.